


Warm Welcome

by AlchemyAlice



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Movies)
Genre: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Comment Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-10
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-08 05:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1128878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlchemyAlice/pseuds/AlchemyAlice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they finally lock him down, Steve’s not allowed to see him for the first eight weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warm Welcome

When they finally locked him down, Steve wasn't allowed to see him for the first eight weeks.

"He put me in the hospital, nearly wrecked the helicarrier again, and you’re clearly useless against him,” Fury said, when he had initially protested. “Cap, I know you’re one for taking the rules as suggestions, especially when you don’t agree with them, but I’m telling you, son. Do not try and see him. Do not set back the therapy we are very carefully, and very thoroughly putting him through.”

"But if he sees me he might—"

"But nothing. He’s seen you, Cap. And it’s pretty clear what his orders were regarding you. Do not see him. Cap?"

Steve looked up at him, jaw working.

Fury raised his eyebrows. “Do. Not. See. Him. Am I clear?”

"...Crystal, sir."

And for once, Steve did as he was told. If he was being honest with himself, he would admit that he was saving himself a repeat of the cold, blank look on Bucky’s face--that had ripped him up more than any of the knife work the kid had picked up in the Red Room.

Natasha gave him reports, which he appreciated. He appreciated all the more that while she never sugar-coated it, she also treated Bucky like he was human. The other Avengers weren’t so inclined.

"Your bro’s a real piece of work, man," Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I’d offer advice, but I’m usually in his position. You’d best talk to Rhodey. But then again, I’ve never tried to kill the director of a major international security agency. On purpose at least." He’d tipped his head down to look at Steve over his sunglasses. "But seriously, Cap? If this whole restoration thing doesn’t work, they’re black-bagging him, no question. You know that right? I just want you to be prepared for the worst."

"Noted, Tony. Please stop."

"Sorry. But also not sorry. I know you guys were brothers in arms and shit, and I respect that, but you gotta know when to let go, too."

Clint wasn’t much better. “Hard reset worked for me just fine,” he said. “And believe me, I sympathise with the bastard. But he’s been down in it for decades. Not all the time, of course, but still. I mean, I will readily admit that I’m fucked in the head, for a number of reasons, but most recently because of the whole…thing…and I am _fucked_ , Cap. And I was in it for…a few weeks?” He grimaced. “Don’t expect miracles, is all I’m saying.”

"Don’t worry," Steve muttered. "Everyone’s been real great about managing my expectations."

He took to writing long, winding letters that he burnt in his wastebasket in Stark Tower. JARVIS was good about not setting off the smoke alarm. There was hardly any place else where he could actually express just how complicated this whole situation was.

But seven weeks passed, and Natasha started looking pensive rather than detached. Fury started giving Steve long, calculating looks.

"He’s talking now?" Steve asked, while Natasha swung her legs back and forth from where she sat perched on his desk. "What about?"

"The Red Room, mostly," she answered readily. "But we’ve reached the early days, now. Those were roughest, but the most useful for our purposes. He’s starting to remember how much he fought the treatment. And when he remembers fighting it, it starts to remember why he was fighting it.” She raised an eyebrow at Steve. “Your name’s come up a couple of times.”

Steve tried not to let his expression change. He wasn't sure if he succeeded.

Eight weeks passed, and then Natasha knocked on his door. Steve had been awake hours, though it was only breakfast time. “He asked for you,” she said.

Steve grabbed his jacket.

***

The SHIELD facility was sterile and well-lit, and clearly not made to accommodate a crowd of superheroes. “The hell are you all here for?” Steve said, looking at them all.

"I wrangled the troops, to butcher a phrase," Tony said. "Because this is either going to be fantastic or a shitshow, and either way, we’re here for you."

"Uh, thanks?"

"We won’t follow you in," Natasha assured him. "Especially not Stark."

"Good," Steve replied. His hands clenched at his sides.

"You want your shield?"

"No." Like Tony said, this was either going to go great, or really, really badly. Either way, Steve didn’t want his shield in his hand. Not with Bucky.

The holding cell was cool and padded floor to ceiling, and Bucky looked like a smudge inside of it, dark hair still jarringly overlong, medical scrubs hanging oddly over the cybernetic arm.

"We’ll be keeping surveillance from out here," Fury said. "No sound, but full visual. You want out, you let us know, and we’ll extract you, no questions asked."

"Got it," Steve said. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Bucky.

The two doors to the cell gave way, one after the other, and Steve stepped through them, feeling like he was stepping beneath a microscope.

Bucky looked up as he came in through the second door. He looked exhausted. Steve could finally see his eyes, unobscured by tactical paint. Steve realised that he had forgotten Bucky's specific shade of blue, and was instantly sorry for it. 

He hovered by the door. “Hey, Buck.”

Bucky opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He frowned, something wounded in his expression, and visibly worked his throat. “Captain.”

Steve froze. Bucky spotted it and jolted, his metal hand flying out, reaching even as the rest of him stayed curled on the floor. “No,” he rasped, “Wait. Steve. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I tried, I—” he stopped. His arm went limp, making a dull hollow sound as it hit the floor. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Steve didn’t move for a long moment. Then he unpeeled himself from the doorway. Walked the few steps to where Bucky was slumped.

Offered his hand.

"Hey, loser," he said, his throat tight. "I missed your stupid face."

"I missed yours more," Bucky retorted, automatically, and then his eyes widened. He looked up at Steve, and then down at his outstretched hand. "Steve. _Stevie?_ ”

"Hey, Bucky."

Bucky launched himself at Steve, seizing his hand and propelling himself up into his arms. Fury’s voice came blaring over the intercom.

"Cap, do you need backup?"

Steve flung a hand out to signal the negative just in time to catch Bucky’s lips with his own. And god, he had missed this, had missed everything about this more than he’d given himself chance to think about; the cold of the metal hand was new, but everything else was just the same, the way Bucky tasted of cheap terrible coffee and stale food and the way his mouth worked into the kiss, the way he snagged his teeth on Steve’s bottom lip like he didn’t want to let go, like he wanted to leave his mark on the inside of Steve’s skin. Steve shoved his hand up into Bucky’s hair to bring him closer, slow their pace just enough to break briefly so that he could say, “Welcome home.”

Bucky exhaled harshly. Pressed his lips against Steve’s one more time before pulling away just slightly. “It’s not gonna be over for a long while, you know,” he said.

Steve snorted, and buried his nose in Bucky’s neck. “Yeah, I know.”

"Well that was unexpected," Tony said through the intercom.

Steve gave the finger to the nearest surveillance camera.

"Your welcoming committee could use some goddamn manners," Bucky commented.

"You’ll learn to like them," Steve said.

**Author's Note:**

> Written on tumblr a while back for marielikestodraw, who requested, "Steve/Bucky, kissing the hell out of each other in front of stunned Avengers who had no idea it was a thing". I did my best to comply, as she is great and deserves all the things.


End file.
